An Introduction to Buddhism for Christians

An Introduction to BuddhismAn Introduction to Buddhism

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RMNI.orgJim Sutherland, PhD, Director

World Religions by Percentage and Size of World Population--2009

David Barrett, Todd M. Johnson & Peter Crossing, “Christian World Communions: Five Overviews of Global Christianity, AD 1800-2025,” Int’l Bulletin of Missionary Research, Jan. 2009, Global Table 5, p. 25.

Christians 2,271,727,000

Muslims 1,449,614,000

Hindus 913,455,000

Nonreligious 773,947,000

Chinese universists 388,609,000

Buddhists 387,872,000

Ethnoreligionists 266,281,000

Atheists 148,346,000

Other 228,306,000

World Religions by Population

Major Religion Numerical Growth: by Birth and by Conversion, 2005

Natural Increase per year (sum)

Conversion increase per year (sum)

Total increase per year (sum)

Hindus 13,120,170 -510,255 12,609,915

Buddhists 3,166,543 3,048,352 6,214,895

Christians 22,843,921 5,907,725 28,751,647

World Christian Database, 2005

Significant conversion growth

Percentages of World Population: Hindu, Buddhist & Christian--2009

Annual percentage growth rates as of 2009

Percent of world population 2009

Percent of world population 2025 (est.)

Hindu

1.35 per annum

13.4 13.6

Buddhist

.73 per annum

5.7 5.5

Christian (all groups)

1.32 per annum

33.3 33.9

David Barrett, Todd M. Johnson & Peter Crossing, “Christian World Communions: Five Overviews of Global Christianity, AD 1800-2025,” Int’l Bulletin of Missionary Research, Jan. 2009, Global Table 5, p. 25.

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Buddhist majority

Hindu majority

6Buddhism

There are approximately 388 million Buddhists globally, as of mid-2009. In 2005 there were approximately 2.8 million in the USA.

There are approximately 388 million Buddhists globally, as of mid-2009. In 2005 there were approximately 2.8 million in the USA.

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Siddhartha Gautama

• He was born in 563 BC north of Benares, India, into the Sakya clan and lived in a palace given him by his father, marrying his cousin. His father intentionally sheltered him from seeing suffering, but one day, on the way to the Royal Park, he saw a begging monk, a sick man, an old man and dead man. These scenes so shook him that the rest of his life was devoted to discovering and proclaiming the way to avoid suffering.– He was 29 when he resolved to forever leave his wife

and young son (Ruhula-”Fetter”) and slip into the jungle to find answers to the problem of pain. “Buddhism,” David Bentley-Taylor and Clark B. Offner, ch. 5 in The World’s Religions, Sir Norman Anderson, Ed., ISBN: 0802816363, p. 170-71.

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Paths to Enlightenment

• Having lived in luxury, he for six years tried to find the solution to suffering first through submitting to the teachings of two Brahmin priests, without help, then through extreme asceticism. He found, after almost dying from starvation, that such severe treatment of his body left him not more enlightened, but in a state of mental and physical exhaustion.– He renounced asceticism and near the town of Gaya,

India, he vowed to sit beneath a fig tree until he came to solve the problem of suffering. While the length of time that he remained there is disputed (1-49 days), when he arose, he believed that he had achieved Buddhahood or enlightenment. Bentley-Taylor, p. 171.

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The Middle Path

• “These two extremes, monks, are not to be practiced by one who has gone forth from the world. What are the two? That conjoined with the passions and luxury, low vulgar, common, ignoble, and useless; and that conjoined with self-torture, painful, ignoble, and useless. Avoiding these two extremes the Tathagata ( the

Buddha) has gained the enlightenment of the Middle Path, which produces insight and knowledge, and tends to calm, to higher knowledge, enlightenment, Nirvana.” “The Sermon at Benares” --Buddha

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The Middle Path• Having lived both in self-indulgence and self-denial, he

set out upon the “middle path” between those extremes. He traveled to Benares and offered these Four Noble Truths:– (1 “Now this, monks, is the noble truth of pain: birth is

painful, old age is painful, sickness is painful, death is painful, sorrow, lamentation, dejection and despair are painful. Contact with unpleasant things is painful, not getting what one wishes is painful. In short, the five groups of grasping are painful.” “The Sermon at Benares,” The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha,” E.A. Burt, Ed., Mentor Books, 1955, p. 30.

– (2 “Now this, monks, is the noble truth of the cause of pain: the craving, which tends to rebirth, combined with pleasure and lust, finding pleasure here and there; namely the craving for passion, the craving for existence, the craving for non-existence.”

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Noble Truths 3 & 4

• (3 “Now this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of pain…” [It can cease.]

• (4 “Now this, monks, is the noble truth of the way that leads to the cessation of pain: this is the noble Eightfold Way; namely, right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.”– “Being a philosopher as well as a great spiritual pioneer,

Buddha discarded all claims to special revelation and all appeals to authority or tradition. He found his standard of truth, and his way of discriminating it from error, in the common reason and experience of men as they can be brought to bear on the universal problem of life.” E.A. Burtt, p. 27

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The Eightfold Path

A. (Wisdom- “Panna”) 1. “Right views”

1. “Anatta”—there is no “self” or “atman”

2. All is an illusion (“maya”)

2. “Right intention”1. “renouncing lust, ill-will and cruelty” Bentley-Taylor, p. 172-173

2. “renounce all attachment to the desires and thoughts of our illusory selves” Halverson, p. 58.

3. “Let therefore no man love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. Those who love nothing and hate nothing have no fetters.” Noss and Noss, p. 120

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B. (Ethical Conduct- “Sila”) 3. “Right speech” Five taboos: (1 taking of life- “ahimsa”

[“himsa” is sacrifice, in the Vedas] (2 stealing (3 immorality (4 lying (5 no inebriant Halverson, p.

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4. “Right action”

5. “Right livelihood” (no luxury)

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C. (Mental Discipline- “Samadhi”) “While morality forms the basis of the higher life, wisdom completes it.” (Buddhist saying)

6. “Right effort” –suppressing evil, overcoming evil, meditation toward “universal love”

How can you love without attachment? It is love of people in general, not as individuals. Noss, p. 123

7. “Right mindfulness” –contemplation upon the brevity of life, upon feelings, upon the mind and upon that which gives control over our thinking

8. “Right concentration” “one-pointedness of thought” (Overall 3-part division and commentary from Bentley-Taylor, p. 173)

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The Ten Fetters1. Belief in our individuality

2. Doubt

3. Believing that sacrifice and ritual will save

4. Impure desire

5. Anger

6. Desire for rebirth in a world of form

7. Desire for rebirth in a world without form

8. Arrogance

9. Spiritual pride

10. IgnoranceIf these are broken, arahatship and Nirvana are attained.

Noss, p. 121 16

Truth

• Buddha said: “Thus, monks, among doctrines unheard before, in me sight and knowledge arose, wisdom arose, knowledge arose, light arose.” “The Sermon at Benares” Burtt, p. 30

– “Apart from consciousness, no diverse truths exist. –Mere sophistry declares this ‘true,’ and that view ‘false.’” from the Sutta-Nipata Burtt, p. 38

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Departure from Hinduism

• Buddha rejected the Vedas as the source of truth.

• He refused to sacrifice to the gods, as enjoined by the Vedas.

• He did not go to the Brahmin priests.• Therefore Buddhism is considered by

Hindus to be a heresy. Noss and Noss, p. 115.

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Buddhist Scriptures

• The early Buddhist canon is called the Tripitaka (or “three baskets”). – Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules), Sutta Pitaka (discourses

primarily of Buddha, with five sub-divisions), and Abhadhamma Pitaka (supplemental doctrine). Noss, p. 127

– They were written several hundred years after Buddha’s death at approximately 483 BC.

– It contains what is supposed to be the teachings of Buddha, including instructions to monks, sermons and philosophical treatises. It’s eleven times the size of the Christian Bible. (Bentley-Taylor, p. 170)

– The Vedas are not a source of authority in Buddhism.

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Some Early Buddhist Doctrines• Brahman-- “As marking the goal of the religious

quest, Brahman is transformed rather than rejected: that goal is entrance into Nirvana instead of union with Brahman.” Burtt, p. 19

• Nirvana—A person achieving right concentration will not be subject to tanha (demandingness) but will achieve liberation and enlightenment and enter Nirvana--“a state marked by…a sense of liberation, inward peace and strength, insight into truth, the joy of complete oneness with reality, and love toward all creatures in the universe.” Burtt, p. 29

– The goal is to finally escape life. 20

• Anatta--There is no self, no ego, no individual identity or reality.– “Nirvana is, but not the man who seeks it. The

path exists, but not the traveler on it.” Visuddhimagga 16, in Bentley-Taylor, p. 176

• Samsara—The succession of rebirths is not continued through the “atman” or soul, since there was none to Buddah, but is simply the engine of karma.

• Karma— As in Hinduism, the law of moral cause and effect, from one life to the next.

• Dharma– “The way that man should follow in order to fulfill his true nature and carry out his moral and social responsibilities.” Burtt, p. 19

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So far, Theravada (Hinayana) Buddhism has been described.

So far, Theravada (Hinayana) Buddhism has been described.

This is also known as Southern Buddhism, since it is found primarily in Southeast Asia—Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos.

This is also known as Southern Buddhism, since it is found primarily in Southeast Asia—Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos.

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Mahayana Buddhism

• This is known as the “greater way,” and as Northern Buddhism, since it is found in Burma and Nepal, as well as in East Asia—Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Japan.

• The Chinese canon of Mahayana Buddhism has approximately 5,000 volumes.– Among the more influential writings are the Diamond

Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, The Lotus of the Perfect Law, the Surangama Sutra, the Sukhavati-Vyuha Sutra and the Awakening of Faith. Burtt, p. 126

• Theravada Buddhism was given to monks, but Mahayana Buddhism has broader appeal. 23

Distinctives of Mahayana Buddhism

• Clark Offner notes these:– Belief in an Absolute reality or Supreme Being to which one may

pray.– A pantheistic worldview– Existence of an individual soul that can pass through heavens and

hells– The Buddha was himself deified. Buddha was considered by some

to be only one manifestation of the True Buddha, and that all persons are potentially Buddhas.

– Salvation may be universal and people are not under the law of karma.

– Instead of the “arhat” (“worthy one”) is the “bodhisattva”—one who foregoes Nirvana to enable others to reach it.

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Mahayana Distinctives

• Worship in temples and sacrifice

• Syncretism—joining elements of different religions

• Chanting– Bentley-Taylor –C. Offner, p. 181-83.

• Buddha put compassion above personal salvation. Mahayana doctrine came in the first century BC. (Noss, p. 147-48)

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Why is Mahayana Different?

• They teach progressive revelation—that Buddha could only teach what his disciples were able to understand. Mahayana doctrine is the most complete enlightenment.

• “The dull, who delight in petty rules, Who are greedily attached to mortality, Who have not, under countless Buddhas, Walked the profound and mystic Way, Who are harassed by all the sufferings—To these I (at first) preach Nirvana. Such is the expedient I employ To lead them to Buddha-wisdom. Not yet could I say to them, ‘You all shall attain to Buddhahood,’ For the time had not yet arrived. But now the very time has come And I must preach the Great Vehicle.” – Lotus Sutra (Burtt, p. 142). 26

Three Kinds of Buddhas• Manushi Buddhas

– Saviors who have come to earth—Gautauma in history, and Maitreya—a future savior.

– They do not hear prayer.

• Bodhisattvas– In Chinese and Japanese conceptions, they postpone

Nirvana for the sake of those needing their merit to enter Nirvana. They hear prayer.

• Dhyani Buddhas (“contemplative Buddhas”)– They achieved Buddhahood in the heavens, rather than

as people, and serve human need. Amitabha Buddha of the Pure Land is one. (Noss, pp. 144-45) 27

Bodhisattvas—Many Deliverers• “At all costs I must bear the burdens of all beings. In that I do

not follow my own inclinations. I have made the vow to save all beings. All beings I must set free. The whole world of living beings I must rescue, from the terrors of birth, of old age, of sickness, of death and rebirth, of all kinds of moral offence, of all states of woe, of the whole cycle of birth-and-death, of the jungle of false views, of the loss of wholesome dharmas, of the concomitants of ignorance, --from all these terrors I must rescue all beings…I will experience in all the states of woe, found in any world system, all the abodes of suffering. And I must not cheat all beings out of my store of merit.” Burtt, p. 133

• This is an acute lack of understanding of personal sinfulness and even megalomania.

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Schools of Mahayana Buddhism

Schools of Mahayana Buddhism

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Some Early Schools

• Yogacara (Mind Only—300 AD)– Nothing exists independently, but only as

thoughts in our mind.– The ultimate reality is the Void and the goal is to merge

with it through yoga, and non-thought. Noss, p. 149-150

• Tantric Buddhism (after 200 AD)– The best way to experience Voidness is not written, but is

mediated through a guru and the use of magic, (including mantras and casting spells), dancing, eating proscribed foods, and ritual sex. Noss, p. 150

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Chinese and Japanese Schools of Mahayana Buddhism

Chinese and Japanese Schools of Mahayana Buddhism 3131

“Pure Land” Buddhism“Pure Land” Buddhism

• Their doctrines seem very close to that of Christianity.– They teach a simple way to salvation—to

have faith in Amida Buddha, a bodhisattva who renounced Nirvana if all who had faith in him would be able to enter.

– Adherents simply have to repeat a praise to this deity and then live a life of good deeds.

– It teaches the sinfulness of people and salvation by the grace of Amida Buddha. Offner, p. 185-86

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“Pure Land” Buddhism“Pure Land” Buddhism

• “Because of my Vow that if they should not be born [in the Pure Land] I will not attain enlightenment.” When the right moment for faith arises, joy is instantly felt, and rebirth is definitely confirmed, once for all.” Burtt, p. 221

• “Shinran’s Songs to Amida”

“Nothing can be compared to His Pure Light;

The result of encountering this Light

Destroys all karma bondage:So take refuge in Him who is the Ultimate Haven.” Burtt, p. 219 33

“Pure Land” Buddhism“Pure Land” Buddhism

• “Honen’s Letter and Poems”“There are indeed many Pure Lands in the ten quarters of the universe, but we seek for the Pure Land in the West, because it is in this one that all sentient being, who have committed the ten evil deeds and the five deadly sins can find Ojo [birth in Pure Land]. The reason why we give ourselves up to Amida alone among all the Buddhas, is that He welcomes those who have repeated His sacred name, even three or five times.” Burtt, p. 213 34

“Pure Land” Buddhism“Pure Land” Buddhism

• “The Pure Land of Amitabha”“This world…which is the world system of the Lord Amitabha, is rich and prosperous, comfortable, fertile, delightful, and crowded with many Gods and men. And in this world system, Ananda, there are no hells, no animals, no ghosts, no Asuras, and none of the inauspicious places of rebirth.” Burtt, p. 207

• “And nowhere in this world system Sukhavati does one hear of anything unwholesome, nowhere of the hindrances, nowhere of the states of punishment, the states of woe and the bad destinies, nowhere of suffering.” Burtt, p. 209

• In Pure Land it is easier to get to Nirvana. But why would anyone want to leave it for Nirvana? 35

Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) Buddhism or Universal Mind

Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) Buddhism or Universal Mind

• This school does not depend upon written texts, but upon meditation.

• It teaches the goal of the union of self with the Absolute, understanding that we have the nature of Buddha. There is no sense of personal sin. Offner, p. 186-87.

• Bodhitsattvas aren’t needed—we all have the Buddha nature. Ignorance is (still) the problem.

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Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) Hsi Yun c. 840 AD

Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) Hsi Yun c. 840 AD

“The Master said to me: “All the Buddhas and all sentient being are nothing but universal mind, besides which nothing exists. This mind, which has always existed, is unborn and indestructible. It is neither green nor yellow, and has neither form nor appearance. It does not belong to the categories of things which exist or do not exist, nor can it be reckoned as being new or old. It is neither long nor short, big nor small, but transcends all limits, measures, names, speech, and every method of treating it concretely. It is the substance that you see before you—begin to reason about it and you at once fall into error. It is like the boundless void which cannot be fathomed or measured. This universal mind alone is the Buddha and there is no distinction between the Buddha and sentient being, but sentient beings are attached to particular forms and so seek for Buddhahood outside it. By their very seeking for it they produce the contrary effect of losing it, for that is using the Buddha to seek for the Buddha and using mind to grasp mind.” Burtt, p. 195-96

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Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) “Shen Hui’s Sermon on Sudden Awakening”

Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) “Shen Hui’s Sermon on Sudden Awakening”

“Friends, all of you, each single one, possesses the nature of a Buddha. The Good friends [the Bodhisattvas] do not take the bodhi [enlightenment] of the Buddha and hand it out to you, nor do they settle that [the Buddha] has already foretold your destination, namely, that all the Beings are from the beginning in Nirvana; from the beginning are they endowed with the gift of immaculate wisdom. Why do they not recognize this fact? [Why do they] wander in Samsara and cannot attain salvation? Because their view is obstructed by the dust of evil passions. They need the direction of a good friend; then they will recognize [that they are Buddhas], cease to wander, and attain salvation.” Burtt, p. 234 38

Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) “Shen Hui’s Sermon on Sudden Awakening”

Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) “Shen Hui’s Sermon on Sudden Awakening”

• “Use all your strength, my friends, so that you may attain salvation by Sudden Awakening.”

• “There are Ch’an teachers who do not like Sudden Awakening but want you to awaken [gradually] by using the expedients that [the Buddhas] offer, but that is a method good only for a very inferior type of Being.” Burtt, p. 237

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Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China) Zen (Japan) Ch’an (China)

• “…The Buddha who has always existed is not a Buddha of stages. Only awake to universal mind, and realize that there is nothing whatsoever to be attained. This is the real Buddha.”

• “Our original Buddha-nature is, in all truth, nothing which can be apprehended. It is void, omnipresent, silent, pure; it is glorious and mysterious peacefulness, and that is all which can be said.”

• “Even if you go through all the stages of a Bodhisattva’s progress towards Buddhahood, stage by stage, when at last, by a single flash of thought, you attain to full realization, you will only be realizing your original Buddha-nature and by all the foregoing stages you will not have added a single thing to it. You will merely regard those kalpas of work and achievement as nothing but unreal actions performed in a dream…” Burtt, pp. 196-97

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Eclectic (T’ien-T’ai) or Rationalist School

Eclectic (T’ien-T’ai) or Rationalist School

• It harmonizes all Buddhist teaching and all Buddhas, teaching that Buddha revealed truth progressively, according to the ability of students. Offner, p. 183

• Three Buddhist truths harmonized: (1 all is void, and has no real substance [consist of dharmas or “transitory elements”] (2 all things exist temporarily (3 all exist and are void simultaneously Noss, p. 148, 160

• The huge Buddhist canon is culminated by the Lotus Scripture.– It teaches the unity of ultimate reality with the historical Buddha.– It even teaches the union of an individual with the ultimate reality,

sounding very Hindu. Offner, p. 183

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Esoteric, Mystical, or True Word School

Esoteric, Mystical, or True Word School

• Influenced by Trantrism, it uses mandalas (picture charts), liturgies, prayers, etc. to elicit aid from various Buddhas, bodisattvas and goddesses. Noss, p. 162

• Buddha is part of everything (pantheism).– This supreme Buddha is named Dainichi (Great Sun).

• It also teaches that Shinto deities were manifestations of Buddha.

• It teaches special knowledge beyond the written canon, including body movements, repeating words (mantras), and forms of concentration. Offner, p. 184-85

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Puristic, Socio-political, or Nichiren Buddhism (Japanese)

Puristic, Socio-political, or Nichiren Buddhism (Japanese)

• This is a reform movement back to the teachings of Buddha as found in the Lotus Scripture, which alone is considered authoritative.

• They worship the mandala scroll, containing sacred words.– Repeating a phrase of praise to the Lotus scripture is said to

unite the personal soul to the Eternal Buddha Spirit. Offner, p. 187-

88.

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Witnessing to a BuddhistWitnessing to a Buddhist

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DiagnosisDiagnosis

• Gently try to determine what the goal of the person’s beliefs is, and how that person hopes to achieve those goals.– Is the goal Nirvana? Ask if you could relate your

understanding of heaven.– What are the means of “salvation”? Share salvation by

faith in Christ alone, although not in a dogmatic tone.– Share how God has transformed your life, and the

works of love He has done through you.

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Freedom from Saving OneselfFreedom from Saving Oneself

• “Buddhism has been well called the most radical system of self-deliverance ever conceived in the world.” – It takes many reincarnations to achieve and ultimately involves

abandonment of family. Bentley-Taylor,174

• Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."– We’re showing Buddhist true release and true deliverance.

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Life is a BlessingLife is a Blessing

• The goal of Buddhists is to escape the suffering of this life and is basically life-denying. The aim is to escape the multitude of rebirths to find a kind of cosmic equilibrium, where there is no more self and no more pain.– The Bible states that life, even after the Fall, is a blessing: Psalm

91:14, 16 "Because he loves me," says the LORD…. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

– In Deuteronomy 6:1-2, obedience to God’s commands had a long and enjoyable life as a reward.

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Deal With Individual SinDeal With Individual Sin

• Buddha’s original teaching was a moral, as well as a philosophical system. Ask if the Buddhist has ever violated his beliefs. An honest one will admit to this. – How will the Buddhist deal with that sin, since there is no

forgiveness with karma? • Instead of paying for sin in the next life, Christ offers

complete forgiveness, and heaven—conscious joy forever, instead of union with a Void or a Buddha or universal Reality.

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Personal Relationship with GodPersonal Relationship with God

• We can have fellowship with a personal God, because we have been created as individuals with a purpose (Eph. 2:10). We are not to deny our individuality, but as good stewards, to use the unique gifts God has given to return much glory to God (Mark 4:3-9). – Instead of focusing upon a moral life of love to all,

without a solid philosophical foundation for doing so (since individuals aren’t really real), we love others as a reflection of and in obedience to, the God of love

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Church Planting Movement

• In Burma (Myanmar), a tribal group leader founded an indigenous church-planting school, based upon a similar Australian school (The Pines Training Center).– Between 1996 and 2007 36 churches have been planted, having a

combined membership of 835 members (none from already existing churches).

– The goal of each church is 200 members by 2020.– All in the movement pray and fast on Fridays for evangelism.– The annual cost of this movement is under $30,000 annually.

• Some support is given by Australian churches to meet that cost.

John Tanner, “A Story of Phenomenal Success: Indigenous Mission Training Centers and Myanmar,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, April 2009, pp. 152-157.

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